Professor of IPB: Empower Professors as the State Development Assets
The National Education Day (Hardiknas) becomes the right moment to reflect on the role of professors in national development. Currently there are 4,486 professors or 2.26 percent of the number of lecturers in Indonesia.
"One important key to the advancement of a nation lies in the quality and the role of human resources including professors. There are more than four thousand professors in Indonesia, but to what extent is the role of professors in satisfying public expectations. Not all the ideas that are right according to Professors can be directly adopted in government policies although the state investment for Professor is very large," said Chairman of the IPB’s Board of Professors, Prof. Dr. Muh. Yusram Massijaya, in a press conference commemorating the National Education Day in Baranangsiang Campus of IPB Bogor, (1/5).
According to him, most funding invested to generate Professors is from public funds, either from the government or other public sources of funds. Thanks to all that, the current field of expertise possessed by the Professors is so extensive and deep. Almost all the nation's problems can be solved more easily if the professors with their expertise are involved.
If this opportunity is not fully utilized by the state, there is concern that the professors would be more interested to work abroad in line with the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). There should be a special agency to manage all of the potential possessed by the Professors.
"It's a lot of demand for teaching abroad. This is dangerous because as yet there is no restriction for professors to work in another country. Later when all of our professors were taken away, we would lose. The government should take advantage of this. Not just money, but also appreciation. If we are not appreciated in our own country, in the long run we will get tempted as well. I do not see any serious attempt from the government. We only help the government to look at this condition," he said.
The concern that Professors will be more interested to work abroad is because of several factors, one of which is "red-tape" in the financial reporting of research. According to Prof. Yusram, this is a form of distrust of the state against the professor.
"The publication of Indonesian Professors is limited because we are ordered to fight with bamboo spears, while in other countries they are given automatic weapons. We cope with this this condition through cooperation with external parties," he said. (Mtd)
